I Whisper Your Name Every Night
by Vivitan
Summary: /Jasper/Cross-posted on Ao3 Jason should've known that forgetting was easier when you still weren't in love. MOre questios created rtaher than answered, amiright? *nugdge nudge wink wink* Find me on ao3: /users/dontlookforme/pseuds/dontlookforme
1. Morning

It was morning when he woke up. Everything was quiet and still, and the bed sheets around him were warm. There was nothing out of place, yet he felt something creep along his spine.

It was morning.

* * *

Morning is the sobering feeling of understanding your mistakes the day before. Jason knew that very well.

Jason's phone exploded with messages from Percy and Leo in the middle of the day.

 _ **Ocean Boi**_

 _Dude, you okay_

 _ **xFirexBenderx**_

 _Yeah, you were pretty out of shape last night_

He frowned, nose crinkling as his glasses slid down. Pushing it up, he hurriedly texted back.

 _ **Blonde Superman**_

 _Yeah, I'm fine, what did I do last night?_

No reply came and he pushed his phone back into his pocket. Strange, he thought.

* * *

He took a step onto the platform, hands trying to find something to busy himself with. His phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello," he said, his voice sounding foreign to his own ears. "Where are you, Jason?" Hazel asked. "Mount Vernon Station." He could hear the unease in her voice as she questioned,"Why are you there?" His eyes locked onto the form of a girl who stood next to him, her eyes staring forward. Her bright orange hair was pulled into a ponytail and she wore a loose red scarf. "I felt like I have to be here." And he ended the call, the sound of static filling his ears as the train pulled up. His feet left the platform and he was jostled in with the rest.

Finding a seat wasn't hard, yet it was next to her. When he sat, she immediately looked up and locked eyes with him. "Hi," he found himself saying. Her eyes crinkled and Jason swore he saw stars in her eyes. "Hi," she said back. "Where are you heading to?" "Montauk, New York." She smiled,"Me too. I know this might sound strange but I feel like I've meet you somewhere before."

He nodded,"Nah, it's not weird. But I'm sure I wouldn't forget someone as beautiful as you." He blushed as the words escaped his mouth and her laugh tickled him silly. He decided he liked her laugh the most.

"You too, hotshot." They fell into a comfortable silence.

As they neared the station, she stood up, motioning for him to stand as well. "Maybe we can meet up again later," she said as she handed him a piece of paper. She fluttered away and Jason found himself alone on the station, before making his way to wherever his legs would take him.

* * *

His legs took him to a beach. Sand, he really hated sand as he grumbled. The cold of the winter sneaking into his bones. "I'm too old for this," he grumbled before stumbling along, the harsh breeze nipping his ears. He honestly wondered what had drove him to go all the way over there. Hazels and the others must be worried sick. He crossed the large expanse of sand and neared a small set of stairs. The whole beach was empty and even the seagulls weren't out and about. The ocean roared and his hand started itching for a pen. Pulling one out of his pocket, he found his small worn out notebook and noticed more than half the pages were torn out.

Confused, he soured his brain for any event that had him ripping them out so harshly. The pages left behind were ragged and rubbing his hand on it, he could feel the anger radiate from them. His mind went back to that morning and the texts from Leo and Percy. What did he do last night? He remembered going to sleep early, his glasses being perched on the bedside drawer.

Nothing stood out of place, and a figure came from the corners of his eyes. It was the girl on the train, he hadn't gotten her name yet. He waved, catching her attention, as he ran up. "Hey, funny seeing you again so soon," he said Her solemn face turned into a grin so wide, he swore it must have hurt. "Hey, blondie," she joked. "So what'cha doing?" He tilted his head in thought before answering,"Trying to find something." She smiled softly,"Me too." The sky started dimming and she turned to him,"Want to get dinner? It's getting pretty late." He allowed himself to be pulled towards a diner, and for some reason, her hand in his felt familiar.

* * *

Dinner was filled with laughter and questions. Her favorite color was dark green, she had a pet dog, and she dyed her hair once every year. He liked comic books ("Superman, she joked), he worked as an editor for a publishing company. But for some reason, every new thing he learned felt like home to him.

When he got home, it was already 3 in the morning. Pulling the sheets over himself, he dreamt of bright orange hair and soft laughter.


	2. Noon

Her name was Piper McLean. He smiled goofily before responding to the text she had sent. Over the course of two months, Jason and her had hit it off. Movie nights at his place almost every Friday when she didn't have to work at the bookstore.

 _ **Big Mama**_

 _Ey blondie_

 _You up?_

 ** _Blonde Superman_**

 _yea_

 _you up for a date tomorrow_

 _i'll take you to that bookstore you were talking about earlier_

He grinned into his pillow as his phone was flooded with emojis. "Yeah, she's a keeper," he mumbled before sleep overtook him.

* * *

Her face when they took a step into the shop was pure bliss. He could understand why as well. The outside was red brick, flower's glowing in rows all around. The interior was a coffee shop and bookstore hybrid. The perfect hipster hangout, he decided as Piper tugged him in with her. He found himself surrounded by piles of books and her squeezed right next to him. He found himself noticing how they melded against each other, soft not rough. Strong and stable. "Thanks," she mumbled her ears turning read. He hoped he didn't crush her with his responding hug.

The others haven't met Piper yet, despite his dates. He never really thought about it until one night when Piper was leaning against him as they watched Sharknado. "You want to meet my friends?" he asked her. She shrugged,"Only if you want me too." He hugged her,"Of course."

* * *

Their reactions weren't what Jason had expected. Maybe some jokes cracked here and there, but all of them looking at her like some ghost frightened him. "Get out," Hazel said. Her voice trembled as her hands reached out to push Piper out. "Get out, get out, get out." Piper stared at her hands before blinking and looking up,"Hazel?"

"Get out!"

The door slammed and a crying Hazel slumped against it. She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face,"How dare you bring her back?" Leo moved over to comfort her as Percy attempted to lead him back to his room,"Let's go."

Their reactions weren't what he expected at all, he thought as his bedroom door closed. But even that couldn't shield him from Hazel's harsh crying. Percy draped an arm over his shoulder,"You did it, didn't you?" He stared at him with wide eyes,"Did what?" Percy merely sighed before standing up from his position on Jason's floor. "I'm going now, but call if you need anything."

* * *

The next day, Jason wrecked his whole house in search for something, anything, that would give him a clue as to what he had done. His closet was a mess, boxes overturned, old papers everywhere. It was nearly night when he finally found a scrap of a picture. He stared at the smiling faces of himself an d the gang. A tall man was wrapped around Hazel and he could see the love from her eyes. Leo was short as ever and there were two others he couldn't recognize. A man with dark eyes and a scowl with a laughing blonde. And there was Piper.


	3. I'm Trying to Remember You

**2012**

 **May**

Blue hair, blue hair, blue hair. A mantra he repeated to himself. It was suffocating, this love. Looking at her then, he couldn't breathe. He met her with blue hair. She was smoking, a habit he himself had gotten rid of years past.

"Those are bad for you," he mumbled to her as he tried to unlock the door to his appointment. He didn't know why he was talking to this strange girl on the floor.

"I know," she said, her voice soft. She looked tired and, for a second, he caught himself almost asking for her name.

* * *

They met at the same place every day soon after. She'd always be outside, sitting on the ground, smoking away.

"Those are bad for you," he would tell her each time and each time she would reply back,"I know." One particular afternoon, he found himself asking her on a date.

"To clear your mind," he gestured to the unlit cigarette in her hand. She frowned, the blue in her hair was fading.

"You don't know me," she said. He shrugged,"Like I said, it's to clear your mind." She stood up abruptly. Her peaceful face was twisted into an ugly scowl,"I don't need your pity." And she was gone for the rest of the year.

* * *

 **2013**

 **October**

He finds her again, outside a bookstore. A year had passed but she was still as breathtaking as before. Her hair, now a fiery red.

"Still smoking?" She nods once before gesturing him to sit next to her on the dingy bench.

"I'll go on that date now," she whispered, voice faint. He heard her though and sneaked his hand into hers.

"Well, it wouldn't be a proper date if I didn't know my beautiful partner's name." She scowled,"It's only for clearing my mind." He ignored her,"Then friend, I'm Jason, and I would like to take you out on a date for friends."

"I'm Piper."

* * *

He learned to associate her with the smell of smoke but as Christmas slipped closer, the scent disappeared.

"Why'd you stop?" he asked on night as they sat in some old bookstore,

sipping coffee too bitter for him to taste. She didn't answer but her cold hand held his a little tighter. The unspoken words hung in the air, and if he squinted he would see them.

"I've got some friends you might like," and her hand slipped away from his as she closed herself off again.

"I don't like people," she mumbled.

"Maybe it'll be a good thing, you could learn to be-" she slapped him.

"You're just a stranger to me that I come to for a distraction. Don't think you're anything special." And those words hurt him worse than the slap. She was right, they've only truly known each for a month or two. He only knew her name yet she knew almost everything about him. She left again but returned the next day. Like a lonely moth attracted to light, they'd fall apart only to come together again later.

 **Christmas**

"I don't smoke anymore," she mumbled into his shoulder. He didn't really know what they were. Closer than friends but still strangers in each other's eyes.

"I'm tired," another muffled statement from her. He was a normal guy, he had a stable job, nice friends, and a roof over his head. She was tired, angry, and hidden away by hair dye and cigarette smoke.

"Who are you?"

She didn't answer.

 **New Year**

They're in his apartment, she's lazing around on his bed.

"I'm Piper." He looked up from the book he was reading. She didn't notice and continued on,"I'm twenty five, I'm a writer or I used to be, I only have one book that's been released. I like cooking but I don't have any money or a kitchen to do any of that." Piper closed her eyes and he was afraid she would fall asleep.

"I like smoking because it distracts me from things. I don't like people, they make me suffocate." She's opened her eyes now.

"I'm leaving." He watched her leave and go many times but this time, he couldn't bring himself to try and stop her. The lingering question of _"Then why do you let me so close?'_ remained unanswered.

 **2014**

 **January**

He 's gotten a habit of bringing a camera around with him. She'll look away and he'd snap a picture and hide it in his bag. When he'd return to the comfort of his small apartment, he look over the pictures taken that day.

"Piper," he nudged her. She's fallen asleep again, he thinks.

"I want you to meet my friends please. I know you don't want to be treated like a charity case. It's not to treat your," he makes hand motions.

"I don't even know what it is." He felt like crying. Two years and he still didn't really know her. Her being Piper. Piper who's twenty-five, who used to be a writer, who likes cooking and smoking because it distracts her. Piper whose afraid of people because they suffocated her. Piper who managed to take his breath away yet he didn't really know her. Who is Piper? He doesn't know a Piper.

"Jason," his head snapped up and she's awake. "I'll meet them."


End file.
